Please note that this is an online workshop conducted via Zoom. Participants will be provided information on how to join the online sessions.

 

Poetry, Marianne Moore says, is “a place for the genuine.” In this generative six-week poetry workshop, we’ll examine Moore’s words slantwise—what makes a place, that brightly lit stage of our lives, genuine? Taking inspiration from locations (both lived and in memory), this course will explore the ways in which we, as aspiring poets, use metaphor, voice, imagery, sound, the poetic line, and other techniques to make poetry, and therefore, take a critical look at surroundings. We will also look at how contemporary poets do the same by reading their works and discussing them as a class, as well as by reading short essays on poetic craft by writers like Mary Oliver, Dorianne Laux, and Kim Addonizio. Our discussions will form the foundation of weekly prompts, leading us to generate poems based on craft techniques, model poems, and personal experiences; participants will also be writing on their own, bringing their work to their peers, reading aloud, and workshopping their poems with one another in a safe, supportive environment. We will also discuss the world of poetry publication, literary journals, and the submission process. Accessible to both new and experienced writers, this course will encourage you to critically examine and render your surroundings into art.